How a French law student founded a global missionary order in 1703
In short: Claude Poullart des Places was a promising law student who abandoned his career to support impoverished men seeking the priesthood. His small seminary in Paris blossomed into the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, a resilient missionary society that has survived revolutions, tropical diseases, and global conflict for over three centuries.
Founded on Pentecost in 1703, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit—often called the Spiritans—began as a modest effort by Claude Poullart des Places to assist poor students in Paris. Poullart, who died at age thirty-one in 1709, established a mission that would eventually span the globe. The society faced near-extinction during the French Revolution, which suppressed its seminary and left only one member, James Bertout, to eventually rebuild the congregation.
The order's character was fundamentally reshaped in 1848 when the Holy See merged it with Francis Libermann’s Society of the Holy Heart of Mary. Libermann, who became the first superior general of the united society, pivoted the congregation toward African missions. This expansion was perilous; in 1844, almost all members of an early mission to West Africa died from tropical diseases. Despite such losses, the Spiritans established numerous dioceses and vicariates across the African continent, with nearly 700 missionaries dying in service there by 1913.
Today, the Spiritans operate in 62 countries with over 2,800 members. Their work has evolved from traditional missionary roles to include social advocacy, such as the Revive agency in Salford, which supports asylum seekers and refugees. The order remains committed to establishing local faith communities that integrate the specific language and customs of the people they serve, maintaining a legacy that stretches from 18th-century France to modern-day Tanzania and beyond.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Congregation of the Holy Spirit
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